David Breashiers, a mountaineer, author and filmmaker who co-directed and co-produced the 1998 IMAX documentary about his climb to Mount Everest, has died, his business manager announced Saturday.
He was 68 years old.
Breeshears was found unresponsive Thursday at her home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Ellen Golbranson said.
She said he died of natural causes, but “the exact cause of death is unknown at this time.”
According to his family, Breescia has climbed Mount Everest five times, including in 1996 using an IMAX camera.
“He combined his passions for mountaineering and photography to become one of the world’s most admired adventure filmmakers,” his family said in a written statement.
In 2007, Breeshears founded GlacierWorks. The company describes itself on his Facebook page as a nonprofit organization that “focuses on changing Himalayan glaciers through art, science, and adventure.”
“At GlacierWorks, he used his mountaineering and photography experience to create a unique record that reveals the dramatic effects of climate change on historic mountain ranges,” the family said.
According to his website, Breshears transmitted the first live television broadcast from the summit of Everest in 1983, and in 1985 became the first American to summit Everest twice. .
Breeshears and his team were filming a documentary on Everest when a snowstorm hit the mountain on May 10, 1996, killing eight climbers.
He and his team stopped filming to help the climbers.
